Vancouver police pulled a ladder out from under a man who had spent more than an hour crawling through the ceiling of a Macy’s at Vancouver Mall in Washington, sending him tumbling onto a mattress they had placed underneath.
Employees called police around 4 p.m. on Sept. 30 after spotting someone moving on top of the ceiling tiles, breaking them and damaging lights and wiring.
Officers and firefighters set up a ladder and spent roughly an hour trying to talk the man down.
According to court records, the suspect, identified as 21-year-old Gabriel Hideo, growled and made incoherent noises while moving around in the ceiling.
When he stepped onto the ladder and then tried to climb back into the ceiling, officers pulled the ladder away.
WATCH:
A suspected burglar at a Macy’s store in Vancouver fell through the ceiling before he was arrested by police.
Employees reported someone crawling above them, damaging tiles and lights. https://t.co/5se4U2zjTE
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) October 9, 2026
Hideo fell onto the mattress, got up, and attempted to flee, but officers caught him.
“They had a conveniently located mattress for us to be able to pull over there, and so in case he fell, because there was definitely an opportunity, with not a lot of footing up there, for him to fall out,” Vancouver Police Department public information officer Kim Kapp told KIRO Newsradio.
“And he eventually came down the ladder a few rungs, and we were able to pull the ladder out. He fell onto the mattress, and we were able to get him into custody,” Kapp said.
“We have to be creative sometimes, but at the end of the day, everybody went home safely,” Kapp added.
Police evacuated the mall’s second floor during the standoff.
When he was finally apprehended, police found a large fixed-blade knife on him.
The creepy ceiling lurker was charged with first-degree burglary and first-degree malicious mischief. He was held on an existing felony warrant.
Trending Now
Americans LIGHT UP CBS After Noticing the Word the Outlet Uses to Describe the Horrifying Islamo-Marxist Riots in France
BREAKING: Massive Explosion at Alberta Military Base Kills and Injures Troops, Hospitals Reportedly Full, ‘Significant Casualties,’ Defense Minister Says ‘Situation Active and Delicate’ (Updated)
Conservative Commentator Gives Christian Moms a Wake-Up Call About a Troubling Homecoming Dress Trend: ‘It Needed to Be Said’
Ilhan Omar’s Claim of Political Persecution By Trump Completely IMPLODES as Judge Who Approved Warrant to Search Her Home is Officially Revealed
More from Cassandra MacDonald
Most read this week
Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can’t see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.
